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National Western Life Group Inc (NASDAQ:NWLI): Has Recent Earnings Growth Beaten Long-Term Trend?

Measuring National Western Life Group Inc’s (NASDAQ:NWLI) track record of past performance is a valuable exercise for investors. It allows us to understand whether or not the company has met or exceed expectations, which is an insightful signal for future performance. Today I will assess NWLI’s recent performance announced on 30 September 2018 and compare these figures to its historical trend and industry movements.

Could NWLI beat the long-term trend and outperform its industry?

Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of 3.7%, indicating the rate at which NWLI is growing has accelerated. What’s the driver of this growth? Let’s see if it is only due to an industry uplift, or if National Western Life Group has experienced some company-specific growth.

In terms of returns from investment, National Western Life Group has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 7.1% instead. Furthermore, its return on assets (ROA) of 1.1% is below the US Insurance industry of 2.5%, indicating National Western Life Group’s are utilized less efficiently. However, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for National Western Life Group’s debt level, has increased over the past 3 years from 1.2% to 1.3%.

What does this mean?

Though National Western Life Group’s past data is helpful, it is only one aspect of my investment thesis. Positive growth and profitability are what investors like to see in a company’s track record, but how do we properly assess sustainability? I recommend you continue to research National Western Life Group to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 30 September 2018. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.

The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.